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Hill tops city average household income

Average household income fell in Chestnut Hill, but it remains the best in the city.

If you haven’t seen this morning’s Philadelphia Inquirer, you might not have noticed that some preliminary figures from the 2010 census are in. Chestnut Hill tops the city’s average household income list even though the same numbers show that families across Northwest Philadelphia lost income. Numbers in the immediate suburbs stayed relatively stable.

Chestnut Hill tops the average household income in the city at $110,391. For comparison’s sake, that number would make Chestnut Hill the second wealthiest municipality in Montgomery County, behind only Lower Merion, which tops the list at $112,100.

Although Chestnut Hill stayed at the top of the Philadelphia list, average household income fell 10 percent since 1999 when the figure was $123,204.

Chestnut Hill fared better than its nearest neighbors in the city during the last 10 years. Average household income fell 16 percent in West Mt. Airy, from $100,851 to $84,593. East Mt. Airy household income dropped 22 percent, from $71,604 to $55,531 and Germantown income fell 17 percent, from $51,061 to $42,450.

In the near suburbs, average household income changed very little. Springfield Township lost 2 percent, from $86,539 to $84,458 and Whitemarsh Township income rose 1 percent, from $101,220 to $102,007.

The Inquirer’s Philadelphia data is here. It’s Montgomery County data is here.

Total population numbers should be available from the U.S. census in 6 days, Dec. 21. Full figures are not set to be available to the public and online until February 2011.

Clarification: The figures are not really preliminary census numbers but rather the results of a the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey. That survey is not a complete number but a sample of the population. The census figures, when released could be different. 12/19/2010

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Very interesting, should be good news for prospective businesses looking to come here versus another spot in the city. Sad column on the Philly link, the rise of Philadelphians falling into poverty in many parts of our city is rising — in the mid 30% range, one even broke 40%.